different » marvel ¹

ten

      I sit, waiting patiently while fiddling with the hem of my shirt. Sargent Walker comes into the room. "Come with me." I don't ask questions, I don't nod, I just do as I'm told. I always do as I'm told.

   "There's one test you haven't done yet. You have to pass it in order to work in the field." Walker leads me into a room with other soldiers lined up against the back wall and two scientists that accompany them.

   My eyes scan the room, but stop when I see what is in the center.

   A man sits there on his knees with his hands bound behind his back. Blood and tears gleam off of his face. I cock my head to the side, looking to Walker. He reaches into the back of his belt, pulling out a black 9mm. He holds the gun out to me.

   "Kill him."

   My heart pounds in my chest, they had never asked me to do something like this before.

   "Sargent," One of the scientists begins, "Are you sure this is necessary?" Walker moves over to him, his tall stature towering over the small man, "Of course it's necessary. If they want her to work in the field and be successful, then she must learn to do this. It is vital she is able to complete orders."

   My palms get clammy, the gun suddenly feeling foreign despite the amount of time I had spent doing target practice in the training room. Sargent steps back over to me, "What are you waiting for? Kill him."

   I hold up the gun, pointing the end of the barrel to the man's head, I gulp.

   I quickly bring the gun down, "W—Why? What has he done?" Walker stands up tall, stepping closer to me.

   "He committed treason." The answer was simple enough, but he didn't back away to let me continue with the order I was given.

   "Do you know what makes a good soldier?" He asks, stalking around me like a tiger gets ready to take down its prey. I don't say a word, knowing that this was a question he was going to answer himself. "One that doesn't ask questions. One that doesn't hesitate."

   He stops, "Now kill him." I hold up my gun, pointing the barrel to the man's head once more. I slip my finger onto the trigger, letting out an unstable breath. "Kill him!"

   I squeeze the trigger, a loud bang echoing in the room, making me flinch.

   "Was that so hard?"

   The memory made me think of the other night when we had run into the Winter Soldier. If he had remembered me—though the chance of that was small—he would've been disappointed in my hesitation; they all would've. If they had seen the interaction, they would've disciplined me for my mistake.

"No." Steve says firmly, "I don't believe that. He probably just found those tags, that—that is not James Barnes. That's not Bucky." Steve refuses my story, convinced that I was wrong.

"Steve . . ." I trail off, deciding not to argue with him right now.

"We're here." He says, ignoring me. "Natasha, wake up. We're here." A loud yawn sounds from the backseat, a red head of hair invading the rear view mirror.

"Already? I just fell asleep. You know how hard it is for a girl to get her eight hours in nowadays?" She complains as Steve parks the truck. The three of us climb out, my eyes automatically scanning our surroundings. I hand Nat the tracking device, letting her find the exact location.

The coordinates led us to a abandoned military base. "This is it." Steve looks around as Nat and I fall into step beside him. I nod, "The file came from these coordinates."